USAGM DIRECT TERMS OF SERVICE AND AFFILIATION AGREEMENT
TERMS OF SERVICE
I. GENERAL
Your use of the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Direct website Service (the “Service”) is subject to your acceptance of the following Terms of Service “Terms” or (“TOS”).
Your acceptance of the TOS shall be indicated by checking a box on the registration page and your continued use of the Service. If you do not accept all the Terms in the following TOS, do not continue with the registration process as you will not be permitted to register.
By accepting these Terms, you and any company (“Company”) you represent (“Applicant”):
(i) hereby intends to become an “Affiliate” of the USAGM, which oversees the following networks ( “Networks[AN6] ”): Voice of America® (“VOA®”), Office of Cuba Broadcasting (“OCB”), Radio Free Asia (“RFA”), Middle East Broadcasting Networks (“MBN”) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (“RFE/RL”); and
(ii) hereby agrees to the following:
WHEREAS, the United States Agency for Global Media (“USAGM”), with its headquarters located at 330 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20237, is an independent agency of the United States Government;
WHEREAS, the USAGM has created and maintains the USAGM Direct website as part of its mission to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy; ; and
WHEREAS, Applicant has requested access to USAGM programming (“Content”) accessible through the USAGM Direct website..
NOW, THEREFORE, USAGM hereby grants a non-exclusive, revocable license for Applicant to use the USAGM Direct website to access Content under the following terms and conditions:
Applicant confirms that the person(s) acting on behalf of Applicant is/are over the age of 18 and consents to the collection of the information requested in the Registration Form. Applicant confirms that it is located outside the United States .
Applicant understands and agrees that Applicant may not intentionally broadcast, distribute, or transmit the Content into the United States, its possessions, or its territories unless Applicant is given prior express permission in writing from USAGM to do so.
Applicant may not use the Content in conjunction with: content regarding products or services or a prurient or sexual nature, political advertisements, or advertisements for weapons, alcohol or tobacco. Applicant also agrees that Applicant shall prevent the actual or the appearance of the endorsement of any advertised products or services by the U.S. Government, the USAGM, the Networks, or USAGM Direct.
Applicant shall credit “VOA” or “Voice of America;” “OCB” or “Office of Cuba Broadcasting” “RFE/RL” or “Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty;” “RFA” or “Radio Free Asia;” “MBN” or “Middle East Broadcasting Networks Inc.;” as appropriate for any Content used. When using RFE/RL material, Applicant must comply with RFE/RL’s brand standards, which are set forth at Branding Page
Upon request, Applicant shall provide USAGM with periodic updates on the demographics of its user base, if available.
Applicant agrees that it will not contest the ownership or validity of any trademarks affiliated with any materials either obtained or accessed through USAGM Direct, nor will Applicant contest the ownership or validity of any copyright protected materials obtained or accessed through USAGM Direct.
Applicant agrees that it will immediately remove from its website(s) and cease any and all use of any Content upon notification from the USAGM that identifies the Content that may no longer be accessed or used.
Applicant consents to periodic monitoring by USAGM, at USAGM’s discretion, of Applicant’s use of the Content.
Applicant agrees that it will not upload any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, malicious software (“malware”), or other forms of unauthorized software to the USAGM Direct website or any other U.S. Government website. Additionally, Applicant agrees that it will not participate in or initiate any directed denial of service attacks on the USAGM Direct website or any other U.S. Government website.
The USAGM reserves the right to immediately discontinue the use of the USAGM Direct website or modify the terms of this TOS at any time, without warning and at USAGM’s sole discretion. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to create any form of obligation on the USAGM to update or maintain the USAGM Direct website in any fashion.
Any rights or authorities not explicitly granted herein to Applicant are reserved and retained by the USAGM.
By clicking “I agree to the Terms of Service,” Applicant expressly consents to and executes this affiliation agreement and, subject to USAGM’s approval, agrees to become an Affiliate of the Networks. If Applicant should at any point ever lose its Affiliate status for any reason, Applicant’s account with USAGM Direct will be terminated .
II. PRIVACY POLICY
Terms of Use and Privacy Notice
Privacy Statement
USAGM Direct does not collect any personal information about you when you visit our website unless you choose to provide that information to us.
Information Collected and Stored Automatically
If you do not log in during your visit but browse through the website, read pages, or download information, we will gather and store certain information about your visit automatically. This information does not identify you personally. The information we automatically collect and store about your visit includes but is not limited to:
- The Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a university's domain) and IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web) from which you access our website;
- The type of browser and operating system used to access our site;
- The date and time you access our site;
- The pages you visit; and
- If you linked to this website from another website, the address of that other website.
By creating an account and logging in you agree to let the USAGM automatically track the browsing and downloading behavior of the USAGM Direct website.
If You Send Us Personal Information
If you choose to provide us with personal information by sending an e-mail to us, or by filling out a form with your personal information and submitting it through our website, we use that information to respond to your message and to help us get the information you have requested. If you provide us with personal information when creating an account, we will only use that information to maintain a relationship with you and your company. We do not collect personal information for any other purposes. Moreover, we do not give this information to any private organizations. Nor do we collect or share information for commercial marketing.
We will share your e-mail with another U.S. federal government agency only if your inquiry relates to that agency or if we are required to do so by law. In addition, we will release documents, including e-mails, if required to do so by a congressional or judicial subpoena.
Information Collected for Tracking and Customization (Cookies)
A cookie is a small file that a website transfers to your computer to allow it to remember specific information about your session while you are connected. Your computer will only share the information in the cookie with the website that provided it, and no other website can request it. There are two types of cookies, session and persistent. Session cookies last only as long as your web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the session cookie disappears. Persistent cookies store information on your computer for longer periods of time.
The USAGM Affiliates’ site uses both session cookies and persistent cookies. The USAGM Direct site uses session cookies for technical purposes, such as to enable better navigation through the site, or to allow you to customize your preferences for interacting with the site. The USAGM Direct website also uses persistent cookies to remember you between visits so, for example, you can save your customized preference settings for future visits.
At no time is your private information, whether stored in persistent cookies or elsewhere, shared with third parties who have no right to that information. If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies stored on your device, you can turn them off in your browser. However, this may affect the functioning of some USAGM Direct site features.
Disclaimer
We may link to external sites that help us perform our mission, illustrate news reports, or connect to our Affiliates and partners. Links to external servers do not imply any official USAGM endorsement of the opinions or ideas expressed therein, nor do such links guarantee the validity of the information provided. Links to commercial sites are in no way an endorsement of any vendor's products or services. Links will be provided to external servers that are managed in a professional manner (i.e., those that are fully operational, available most of the time, do not serve inaccurate information or obscene graphics, etc.). This server will not link to external servers if such a link would appear to provide an official endorsement of fundraising efforts or lobbying for a political agenda.
The Networks do not broadcast in the United States. Their programs are intended for overseas audiences, as is the USAGM Direct website. Domestic American broadcasters utilizing similar tradenames and call letters are not affiliated with this international broadcasting agency.
III. Copyright Statement
All original text, audio and video material produced exclusively by VOA and OCB is in the public domain. However, the Content, including VOA and OCB content, may contain video, audio, images, graphics, and other copyrighted material that is licensed for use by USAGM only. This material is not in the public domain and may not be copied, redistributed, sold, or published without the express permission of the copyright owner.
All original content produced by RFE/RL, RFA, and MBN is protected by copyrights held by USAGM and the individual Network.
Third Party Content
USAGM licenses material from third parties, including Associated Press, Reuters and AFP, to supplement USAGM Content. This third party content may not be independently copied, published, or redistributed without the written permission of the appropriate third party.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act Notice
The USAGM respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask users of the USAGM Direct site to do the same. In accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other applicable laws, USAGM has adopted a policy that provides, in appropriate circumstances, for the termination of account holders who infringe the rights of copyright holders. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide USAGM’s Copyright Agent with the following information:
A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works on USAGM Direct site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works on the site.
Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit USAGM to locate the material.
Information reasonably sufficient to permit USAGM to contact you, the complaining party.
A statement that you, the complaining party, have a good-faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you, the complaining party, are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
This information should be sent to USAGM’s Copyright Agent, who can be reached by email at copyrightagent@usagm.gov or by regular mail at:
USAGM Copyright Agent
330 Independence Ave, SW
Suite 3349
Washington, D.C. 20237
United States of America
III. AFFILIATION AND LICENSING AGREEMENT
As an Affiliate of the USAGM, Applicant agrees to the following USAGM Affiliate and Licensing Agreement which is hereby incorporated into these Terms of Service.
Affiliation and Licensing Agreement
Affiliate Information and Administrative Contact: Will be provided by Applicant in the Registration Form.
USAGM Administrative Contact:
Technical Contact – USAGM
Email: ads@usagm.gov
Address:
Network Control Center
Room 2140-C Cohen Building
330 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20237, USA
I. Parties. This Affiliation and Licensing Agreement (“Agreement”), effective upon the day and year of the signature affixed the latest in time below (“the Effective Date”), is between the U.S. Agency for Global Media (“USAGM” or “Licensor”), an independent Federal agency of the U.S. government located at 330 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC, 20237 and Affiliate (Name and Company information presented in Registration form). This Agreement binds Affiliate as a licensed distributor of USAGM provided programming. USAGM and Affiliate may be referred to individually as “Party” or collectively as “Parties”.
II. License. USAGM grants Affiliate a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license during the term of this Agreement in the content, territory and media defined below for the purpose of informing, engaging and connecting people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. Any rights or authorities not explicitly granted herein to Affiliate are reserved and retained by USAGM.
III. Content. Affiliate is granted access to the following USAGM provided programming (“Content”):
IV. Territory. Affiliate may distribute Content to Worldwide, except the United States and its terriroties unless explicitly defined in writing and agreed upon by all parties.
V. Media. Affiliate shall distribute USAGM’s provided Content pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement via audio and visual means through the following Media: print; radio; television; Internet; and mobile/social platforms. Any other distribution of USAGM provided Content is prohibited without the prior written consent of USAGM.
VI. Responsibilities.
A. Affiliate shall receive and retransmit the Content described above from the Affiliate’s facilities consistent with USAGM Broadcasting Standards and Principles available at USAGM.gov.
B. Affiliate shall distribute USAGM’s provided Content in its original form and language without any alterations unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the Parties. For radio and television broadcasts, Affiliate agrees its transmitter(s) shall be operated at their maximum licensed power on a frequency or channel mutually agreed upon by the Parties. Modulation levels shall be maintained at the maximum level authorized for the service with average modulation levels not less than 85% and frequent peaks achieving 100%.
C. Affiliate shall notify the individual(s) listed as the USAGM Contact(s) in writing of the date and time of Affiliate’s first use of USAGM provided Content and, throughout the term of this Agreement, shall immediately refer any claims concerning the Content to USAGM for USAGM’s review and disposition pursuant to applicable law.
D. Through the term of this Agreement, Affiliate shall promptly notify USAGM of any and all Affiliate’s failures to receive USAGM’s provided Content. Affiliate shall not be responsible for any loss of USAGM provided Content, provided that such loss is not a result of the Affiliate’s fault or negligence.
E. Affiliate shall be responsible for any fees and costs that may be incurred to receive and use USAGM provided Content including, but not limited to, royalties, costs for technical facilities, personnel, and downlinking. Affiliate shall obtain from the appropriate authorities any licenses or permissions that may be necessary for the Affiliate to use USAGM provided Content.
F. USAGM shall provide Affiliate with Content via a mutually agreed upon method and Affiliate shall properly credit USAGM’s Content as that of the appropriate USAGM Network name. USAGM may request, and Affiliate agrees to submit, analytics and survey data regarding Affiliate’s use of USAGM’s Content.
G. USAGM shall not be responsible for any obligations, responsibilities, or liabilities not specifically listed herein.
H. Force Majeure. Neither Party shall be liable to the other for any failure to perform or for delay in performance of its obligations hereunder caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, unforeseen and unforeseeable, including, but not limited to, fire, flood, earthquake, other natural disasters, war, insurrection, sabotage, epidemic, acts of God, acts of any government or agency thereof, or judicial action or any other causes or circumstances, or contingencies that may prevent, hinder or delay the performance of the Parties of any of their obligation under this Agreement, but only during the period in which it was so prevented or delayed (Force Majeure Event).
Any Party claiming such excuse or delay occasioned by a Force Majeure Event shall give prompt notice in writing thereof to the other Party as soon as possible after the occurrence of the event as well as prompt notice of the ending of the Force Majeure Event.
The affected services will be resumed as soon as possible, and the term of this Agreement may, by mutual written agreement, be extended for a period of time corresponding to the actual non-performance period.
If such Force Majeure circumstances exist for more than three (3) months, either Party shall have the right to denounce further execution of its obligations under this Agreement, without constituting a breach thereof, and, in such an invent, neither of the Parties shall have the right to claim reimbursement by the other Party for any losses incurred.
I. Some of the Content provided under this Agreement is produced by the USAGM and the five entities it oversees—two federal organizations—the Voice of America and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (oversees Radio and TV Marti) and four non-profit organizations –Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks, Inc, -which receive grants from USAGM. and is intended for dissemination to foreign audiences outside of the United States. This USAGM Content is available to users located within the United States solely on an incidental basis; USAGM makes no representations or warranties as to its availability or accessibility to such users.
J. Affiliate shall indemnify USAGM, and its officers, agents, and employees acting for USAGM against any liability, including costs and expenses, incurred as the result of Affiliate’s unauthorized use of USAGM’s provided Content.
K. Except for any applicable performance rights fees, the Affiliate shall not be responsible for any claims arising on the grounds of artistic or ideological content, form, or copyright of programming provided by USAGM.
VII. Consideration.
Neither Party shall have any monetary obligations under this Agreement. The sole consideration hereunder is in the form of various mutual covenants and undertakings of each respective Party as detailed in VI. herein. Each Party bears the costs and risks associated with fulfilling its covenants and undertakings.
VIII. Intellectual Property.
A. USAGM Ownership. Affiliate understands and agrees that all rights of whatever nature, including without limitation, USAGM’s copyrights, trademarks, domain names, and Content are and will be, from their inception, owned exclusively by USAGM, and that Affiliate will make no claim to or challenge the ownership or validity of and will have no such rights except with respect to any licensed rights granted to Affiliate in this Agreement. Nothing in this Agreement gives Affiliate any intellectual property rights in the Content and Affiliate’s rights are conditional based on the terms of this Agreement. The rights provided in this Agreement do not include the right to sell, transfer, or donate such USAGM provided Content to another entity in any fashion or manner.
B. USAGM Provided Content. USAGM shall be solely responsible for USAGM’s exclusively produced Content. All USAGM provided Content is subject to the USAGM Broadcasting Standards available at USAGM.gov. USAGM provided Content, or segments or excerpts thereof, may not be used in a manner that alters their accuracy, balance, timeliness, or context. All original text, audio, and video material produced exclusively by USAGM is in the public domain. However, the Content may also contain video, audio, images, graphics, and other copyrighted material (third party content) that is licensed for use in USAGM programming only. This third-party content is not in the public domain and shall not be copied, redistributed, sold, or published without the express permission of the copyright owner.
IX. Advertisements.
A. Upon request, USAGM may provide promotional material and approved stylized marks for use in advertising USAGM’s provided Content. Affiliate may transmit its own announcements before or after USAGM’s provided Content. Affiliate announcements also may be broadcast during USAGM’s provided Content, but only during mutually agreed upon windows for this purpose. When these windows are used, the Affiliate must use the entire window and rejoin USAGM’s provided Content at the precise time to ensure professional sounding Content.
B. Affiliate announcements shall be limited to commercials and features of local interest and must be clearly distinguished from any USAGM and United States Government announcements. There shall be no political advertising immediately before, after, or during USAGM provided Content or any other form of advertising during USAGM’s provided Content unless there is a designated window. Subject matter of any such commercial announcements shall not include tobacco, alcohol, firearms or products/services of a sexual nature.
C. Certain USAGM provided Content may be funded in whole or in part by other agencies or organizations, which the USAGM must acknowledge during the transmission of the Content. Such acknowledgment shall be deemed a part of USAGM’s provided Content and cannot be altered or removed from USAGM’s provided Content.
X. Dispute Resolution and Limitation of Liability.
A. In the event of a disagreement concerning the interpretation or implementation of this Agreement, the Parties shall first attempt to settle their dispute amicably by means of negotiation. If the Parties are unable to settle their disputes amicably, the Parties agree that such disputes shall be subject to the jurisdiction of a United States Federal court of competent jurisdiction.
B. In no event shall either Party be liable to the other Party for any incidental, indirect, consequential, or special damages, loss of good will or business profits, work stoppage, or for exemplary or punitive damages arising out of or relating to this Agreement, regardless of whether such Party had been advised of the possibility of such damages.
XI. Term and Termination.
A. Unless terminated earlier by either Party by written noticed received by the other Party at least thirty (30) days before this Agreement’s expiration date, the term of this Agreement will begin on the Effective Date and continue for a period of 12 months. Additionally, USAGM may terminate this Agreement immediately and without prior written notice upon Affiliate’s s breach of any material provision of this Agreement.
XII. General.
A. USAGM and Affiliate hereby designate the following individuals as their points of contact. In the event of a change of a point of contact or of contact information, each Party agrees to notify the other in writing within thirty (30) calendar days thereof. Any notice required to be given under this Agreement shall be in writing and may be given either personally or by overnight carrier services and shall be deemed given immediately upon personal delivery or if sent by overnight carrier services, three (3) days. Notice may also be provided as an “original” scanned and attached to an email.
B. This document, including any Annexes and Attachments, constitutes the entire Agreement between the Parties. No modification changing its scope or terms shall have any force unless it is in writing and signed by both Parties. Annexes to this Agreement form an integral part of this Agreement and may be similarly modified in writing by signature of both Parties.
C. The Parties are independent entities and nothing in this Agreement creates a partnership, joint venture, Agency, or employer/employee relationship.
D. USAGM enters this Agreement pursuant to its authority under 22. U.S.C. Section 6204 (a)(10). This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted and enforced in accordance with U.S. federal law without reference to conflict of laws; is not an international agreement; and is not subject to international law.
E. The Affiliate shall not subcontract any part of its obligations under this Agreement, nor may it transfer or assign all or any part of this Agreement without the prior written approval of and upon terms acceptable to the USAGM.
F. The Parties hereby represent that they have the full legal authority to enter into and legally bind their respective organizations to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and to any modifications thereto. This Agreement is written in English, and the English text takes precedence over any translations of this Agreement into any other language(s).
G. No employee or officer, member of or delegate to the Congress of the United States, or resident commissioner of the United States, or employee or officer of any agency thereof shall be admitted to any share or parts of this Agreement, or to any benefit arising from it.